Downtown Dreamin’

Downtown Dreamin’

Court Square revitalization plan just part of vision for future of Marion

news@theeveningtimes.com

Military Road from Interstate 55 to the intersection of Highway 77 could soon be transformed into a five lane landscaped boulevard leading to a revitalized courthouse square with shops and restaurants.

At least that’s the vision according to a master plan drawn up by consultants hired by Marion to come up with ideas to breathe new life in to the downtown area.

“This has a chance to really be transformative for Marion,” said Mike Demster, president of Marion Chamber of Commerce.

Residents had a chance to see some preliminary drawings and offer feedback during a community meeting at Trinity in the Fields Church.

The city hired Ecological Design Group and Fennell Purifoy Architects to analyze Military Road and the courthouse square area and develop ideas on how to make it a unique destination.

Martin Smith of Ecological Design Group said Marion is in a unique position to attract young people and families looking for a smaller community and safer environment to live that is close to big city attractions.

“You’ve got this incredible urban amenity (Memphis) that is already attractive to the millennial crowd, but who want to get out of that urban environment,” Smith said. “So you have this connectivity to downtown Memphis in Marion and also the ability to get out in to nature more.”

Smith said the revitalization process will be done in two phases. Phase 1 will involve the widening and beautification of Military Road.

The beautification efforts would involve adding a decorative arch at the intersection of I-55 and Military Road resembling a steamboat smokestack, decorative lighting, a landscaped median, and a bike lane.

“When you see that arch it makes you feel like you are entering a special place that is set apart from the rest of your city,” Smith said.

“The idea is to make it feel like one street and to give it a sense of a downtown. You are going to see some elements like medians and lighting and streetscaping and different things like that that are beyond what the highway department typically will do that the city will have to find the money to do.”

Smith said Marion is fortunate because the state highway department already has plans to widen the road to five lanes in 2019.

He and his designers met with the highway department and said the state was very receptive to their plans and eager to work with the city.

“We went down and met with six individuals from the highway department and they are totally on board with what we are doing,” Smith said. “They are excited. They have agreed to the concepts and are going to take out design plans and incorporate them as they move forward.”

Smith said once the road is widened parents will no longer be able to park on the street in front of the elementary school where they currently pick up and drop off their children.

“That is going to be a huge issue moving forward,” Smith said. “You won’t have an eight foot shoulder that people are parking on now. It’s not going to be an option to have pick up on Military Road. I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t have an answer for you right now.”

Also, Smith noted that the Sample Youth building next to Marion United Methodist Church, the City Annex, and the 8th Street Mission store will likely all need to be torn down to accommodate the widening.

Phase 2 will involve making improvements in and around courthouse square.

Among the suggested improvements are the addition of an open air pavilion for concerts, a splash pad, farmer’s market, and more retail and restaurant development.

“This become the heart and soul of your city,” Smith said. “Having all these public buildings in the core downtown is an incredible asset to work with.”

The plan also calls for a skyway over the railroad tracks and Hwy. 77 from the courthouse square to near the site of the proposed

Sultana Disaster Museum.

“I know that may sound crazy,” Smith said. “But I think we can make it work.”

Smith called Marion Lake a “gem” and said it is an asset to build on and connect to other city parks, the greenway, and biking trails. “So my job is take all this and tie it together and make it all fee connected and make sense,” Smith said.

Mayor Frank Fogleman said he was pleased with many of the ideas contained

in Ecological Design

Group’s plan.

“They presented some concepts that I think will work for Marion,” Fogleman said. “I think we are off to a good start. A budget is more on my mind than anything else. I need an idea of how much money we will need.”

About 70 residents attended the meeting and filled out questionnaires offering feedback.

Ecological Design Group will review the feedback and come back with a revised plan in about 30 to 45 days.

“They’re going to need some time to digest that and see if there are any central themes which emerged from that,” Demster said. “It’s too early to start drawing any conclusions because we don’t have a final plan yet. But everybody was encouraged and positive in the process and they are going to come back in a couple of weeks to present some final concepts.”

By Mark Randall